New to this world

I apologize in advance if some of the terms I use are not correct (hopefully you will help me learn)

Hi everyone, since I've started school, I've always motivated myself by the fact that when I graduate, I will buy a system that will allow me to listen to music the way I've always dreamed of. I'm a few months away from graduation, and so I've started shopping, and never thought it would be so exciting (and very complicated).

And so I decided to join this community to feed on the experience of all of you! I,ve read many posts, and thought it would be time to ask for a bit of help.

What I currently own : Pioneer turntable PL-71, Marantz amp 1070, NAD cd player and Yamaha speakers (I forget the model will write it when I get home).

It should not be very hard to improve this system, but I've been a student for 21 years, so I didn't have a big budget!

Now, I'm ready to invest in something that will let me enjoy music on another level.

What I'm looking for : Turntable, Amp and Speakers (for cables, I was lucky to have a friend who was an audio salesperson a few years back and I helped him build a deck in exchange for two acoustic zen satori speaker cables and a dozen of MiTerminator interconnects; maybe they're not the right cables for me, but they will be "right enough" for now). For the style of music, I listen to a very wide range from classical and jazz to trip-hop and progressive music (and more...)


The first speakers that I've really liked are the pro ac D-18. I will try the Studio 140 this weekend as my dad found a shop that is letting them go for 2000$.

The only turntables I listened to for now are the Pro-ject classic series, and I couldn't beleive the diffence between a 1000$ turntable with a 2000$ turntable. This really confused me, because I never thought the difference could be so big! The downside of the expencive table is that I could hear more of the flaws in the recordings.

For amps, I really don't know, I listened to an arcam, but there are so many choices it's alomost scary.


So my questions are :

1- Anybody ever compared the proac D-18 and studio 140? And do you think they are a good choice?

2- For turntables, any suggestions? I will listen to some rega turntables next week, but I'm a little confused with all the different companies.

3- How do you guys shop for systems (what I find hard, is that I go to one place, listen to some combinations, and then go to work for a week, and then go somewhere else and try to compare with so much time between the tests). I tried to make a chart for each, but I find the results being difficult to compare.

4- Amps, amps and amps ...

5- Any advice you find important ti give to a newbie that loves music and the purity of sound that will soon purchase his first real system!


Thanks for your help,

Dave

do you want to spend? there is a very wide range of choices in price.

pro-ac speakers are considered to be vg but many other things are out there--magneplanar 1.7s for instance.

for TTs i like sota and vpi but that involves some money (maybe $1k).

i recommend tube preamps and big power ss amps such as audio research preamps and adcom amps. tube sound and plenty of punch.

buying on audiogon.com can be a good experience if youre careful like you must be on ebay.

frequent the audio sites like this one, audioasylum.com, audiokarma.org, and audiocircle.com for good info.

First, what is your total budget? With out knowing it, here are some suggestions.

This is the TT that I would buy. It comes with a very good cartridge and is on sale.

http://www.needledoctor.com/Clearaud...2&category=347

Here are a few other TT's to consider-

http://www.needledoctor.com/Clearaud...2&category=347

http://www.needledoctor.com/Music-Ha...2&category=351

For amps- Parasound Halo A21, Belles SA100, Van Alstine FET Valve 550 (hybrid tube amp)
http://www.needledoctor.com/Music-Ha...2&category=351

http://www.needledoctor.com/Pro-Ject...2&category=352

You should also consider a stand alone phono preamp. To spend $2k on a TT and not buy a good phono preamp is a waste of the TT.

http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Phono-Preamps

I like this one but there are many good ones-

http://www.needledoctor.com/Pro-Ject...2&category=401

I would consider PSB Synchrony speakers, Paradigm , Salk Song Towers, Magnepan 1.7's.

For amps, I would consider the Parasound A21, Belles SA100, Belle's150 V2 http://www.audiowaveshifi.com/belles.htm Van Alstine FET Valve 550 or 350 www.avahifi.com (these are hybrid tube amps) to name a few.

Please tell us what you would like to spend, total for your system. I would like to help you with your analog chain. TT / preamp / amp.

Depending on your budget and overall goals, you may be able to buy a wonderful multi purpose preamp with a phono stage inside.

Have a look at Grant Fidelity. They are a Canadian company who import the best of the best from Asia. The prices are as incredible as the gear.

http://grantfidelity.com/site/

the people at grant fidelity all have red noses and swords.

Thanks for the replies, concerning my budget, I'm thinking of spending max 10k.

I went to another shop today and will go back next week and try the dynaudio excite x-32. The salesman there suggested a moon amp by simaudio for those speakers.

I will also go to Montreal soon (as there are more shops than Quebec city) to try and find your suggestions.

Thanks for all the info, I will continu my research!

Dave

dynaudio is one of the premier speaker makers in the world, parasound electronincs or audio research, VTL, B&K, or others in that quality level may be in your future.

have lots of fun.

While I am not familiar with the Proac or Studio speakers you mentioned I am quite familiar with the Usher and Reference 3A line. If you have dealers near you that carry one or both lines you may want to go give them a listen.

Speaker considerations and staying within budget.

http://www.usheraudiousa.com/product...-series/Be-718

http://www.reference3a.com/mmdecapo.htm

Good luck with your shopping and selections.

LeRoy

Here's a good place to start-

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php...;topicseen#new

Some other amps to consider would be the Nuforce model 9se version2 monoblocks. They sell for $5k a pair and can usually be found for $2K-2.5K used. My friend just bought a pair to replace his Belles 150A Hotrod amp. They are extremely fast and dynamic with great transparency, detail and depth.